Behind Scotia's Global Push

CEO Rick Waugh, One of the Most Acquisitive Bankers, Pounced on the Crisis-Hit

By

Caroline Van Hasselt

Updated Dec. 5, 2012 9:06 p.m. ET

Canadian bankers haven't been shy about seizing on the global financial crisis, snapping up assets from U.S. and European peers scrambling to raise cash. None have done so as aggressively as Rick Waugh, chief executive of Bank of Nova Scotia.

The bank is Canada's third-largest by assets, often overshadowed by its bigger and better-known competitors, Royal Bank of Canada and Toronto-Dominion Bank. RBC is pushing to build a world-class...